We have been sort of expecting it for the past year, but today was the day when it all manifested.

Yes, two days before our first bin collection of the year and devastation has struck Chez Green. It’s scuppered all our plans of going down in history as ‘the one bin family’It’s big, it’s scary and a tad on the whiffy side too.

I find it a little amusing and sad at the same time, Mr Green is walking around with disbelief on this face and Little Miss Green well, bless her, she’s just incredulous at the whole situation and is wondering why on earth it has happened and who on earth would do such a thing.

Do you think you know what it might be? What fate has fallen upon the Green family? Have a look and find out …..

As ever, we’d love to hear your thoughts!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6buukrq2z8v

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Don’t throw it away… That's rubbish, just throw it away ... How many times have you heard that or said…

I am a long time supporter of the Green and Sustainable lifestyle. After being caught in the Boscastle floods in 2004, our family begun a journey to respect and promote the importance of Earth's fragile ecosystem, that focussed on reducing waste. Inspired by the beauty and resourcefulness of this wonderful planet, I have published numerous magazine articles on green issues and the author of four books.

Comments (33)

I can’t believe anyone would do such a thing! It’s such an invasion of privacy. Perhaps you could go through th bags (yuck) as I’m sure they would have left addressed envelopes in there, then you could chase them up and return the rubbish!

I would have to look in the bags to see if there was an envelope with a name on it. Then ,of course, I would return the bag to the rightful owner. Though it is possible that the bags themselves were stolen out of someone’s yard.

I am not at all surprised, some people are very very rude and ignorant, arrogant, whatever, I would be very upset if it was me, (sorry Poppy, just read your blog) but I do agree with you, makes my blood boil.

Good grief! I agree how very rude, BUT what it does show that you’re having an impact. Someone is thinking hard about what you’re doing. Are they trying to sabotage your efforts or ask for help? Perhaps a bag analysis is in order? I know, I know. Just looking for a positive spin.

Mrs G…there is a word that comes to mind but I’m not sure if I should share it. I hope you get to the bottom of it and find out who it is. Shame on them. Glad to see you’re in good spirits though. It’s the best approach to take. x

What a shocker, Mrs Green. This seems like a determined effort to undermine your family’s fantastic efforts over the past year, plus recent weeks. I too have problems with litter which blows into the garden daily. This I collect separately for council disposal at the local centre.

Feel free to contact the local council for uplift by them, even though they are not responsible for the situation. This is fly-tipping and grossly inconsiderate behaviour. We know there is an anti- brigade made up vested interests and individuals frightened by change. The truth of our Zero Waste aspirations is that such change is essential, and of economic value.

How sad are they? Ignorant.
I’d get the rubber gloves on to see if you can find any incriminating information, and report their ignorance. They have created an environmental nuisance, fly tipping is a crime with a rather high penalty if proven. Don’t let them get away with it.

Some people are just so ignorant of people who succeed at something, there’s probably an element of jealousy that they could not achieve what your family has achieved.

Keep up the fantastic work, I’m sure this sort of event would only make you more determined anyway.

Thinking further on this, very anti-social behaviour, I doubt it would have happened if there had been a normal collection service in operation. Have the lorries managed to get through by you yet? can you remember which day your normal collection would be on? Normal service has supposedly been resumed here, but we’re still unlikely to see anyone before Thursday. I think we’ll be clambering over black bags by then to get off the estate!! Not ours I should add!!

I agree with John – this is flytipping and you should be able to get it removed without any stain on your excellent record!

Or better yet, call the reporter who interviewed you and turn the bags over to him/her and allow them to do some investigative journalism! I am so mad that some would do this! As I was telling my sister who would want to be known as “pro waste”!

Some people have no shame. It would be interesting to track them down, perhaps you have CTV camera’s in your street or a neighbour has asecruity camera. Their point is futile as it is still their rubbish and not yours. You have lots of support. I am currently blogging with folks in the USA re their changing attitudes to recycling, so ignore shameless people who leave rubbish in your garden, be positive and continue to spread the word.

That makes me so mad! What you guys are doing is so wonderful I can’t believe someone would be so mean spirited. So what if they don’t agree with what you’re doing for whatever possible reason. What you’re doing doesn’t hurt anyone or put anyone down. All it does is make them look like a fool. I’m so glad that while you guys are obviously upset, you don’t seem to be letting it get you down. All of us here are proud of you and don’t care that you had to throw away 7 extra bags, they’re not yours. And instead of just moving them to a neighbors so you could still have just 1 bag, you let us know and i think we are all a little more proud of your family, if that’s even possible!

This blog has helped my family drastically cut down on our own waste and I know we’re better for knowing your family. So great job and here’s to an even better 2010!

Crazy. I don’t know why someone would bother. Your lack of rubbish doesn’t affect THEM in any way. Or maybe it does. . . maybe they feel threatened by your efforts because they feel guilty for not doing the same. In either case, I would just ignore it. Though the question is, will you send it to the landfill or attempt to sort it first?

You know it’s not your rubbish, and so do we. I’d contact the council, have it removed and then try to forget about it. I wouldn’t give the offenders the satisfaction of rising to the bait. You’ve much more important things to be getting on with. Onwards and forwards!

I can’t believe it after all your efforts! Some people can be so thick and pathetic.
Please don’t be too disheartened what you are doing is so inspiring. I am new to your site but am now addicted.
At the moment I am staying in Grand Cayman and they do hardly anything to reduce waste. You can take your aluminium cans to special bins at the grocery stores (they are then shipped off to the States for recycling) but the education and marketing to do this isn’t there and people throw their regular garbage in aswell! The result is a huge hill of rubbish at the dump which is now the highest point on the island and locally named Mount Trashmore!!
One thing I miss about the UK is just how easy it is to recycle. So, more people should invest their time recycling their rubbish than throwing it in your garden, grrrrr!!
Keep up the good work.

Words cannot express how I feel. Actually they can, but they are unprintable 🙂

I agree with the previous posters. Call the reporter who interviewed you. It’s an interesting follow up. And then call the police and have them look at the trash for an address and have them cited for littering.

please post a very large thank you note on the bags, before turning them to the council.
the pranksters have done you quite a service; free advertisement–free environmental promotion.
now, to bring awareness to local rubbish collectors. oh, wait, could it be the very collectors who fear job instability –if you become successful enough to reduce their collection routes?

with this i leave the subject to your faithful retinue of commentors, and bow to the green family, may re-cyclers enjoy job security for time to come…

I would contact the council and they will be able to look thru it the same as they would normal flytipping, the person/persons then responsible will hopefully be fined according to the flytipping rules.

I think I would be the same as LMG and want to deliver it back.

I would as mentioned above also contact the reporter who is following your story.

Chins up, you know you as a family are far better than these people (I use this term loosely) and I wouldn’t let it scupper your achievement.

Oh you poor things, after all your good work and inspiration. I totally agree with all the posts suggesting getting your local reporter in and getting them to trawl through the bags to find the culprit.

We have wheelie bins, and as an ardent recycler, have had occasions when our bins (normally quite empty), have been used as overflow “facilities” for less aware neighbours. We have yet to find out who, have even contemplated leafletting them all to shame the culprits. We could get fined by our Council if our bins are overloaded – how would we feel if we had to fork out £75 (the going rate) for someone else’s excesses?

I think I’d quail at the thought of sifting through all those bags, especially since, as Shymom has said, they may very well have been grabbed from outside other people’s houses as a deliberate act of sabotage. I agree with Maisie, contacting the council first to see if they would be interested in investigating would be a very good idea. Best person to contact would be Tom Hewish, their Streetcare guy, at [email protected]. If, however, you do decide to inspect any of the bags yourselves, you probably know better than to pull on a pair of marigolds. Rubber gardening gloves, along with tongs perhaps, will be safer, and even then be cautious.

Incidentally, there are a few individuals (or just the one individual) ‘trashing’ your efforts in the last TiG article. Although ‘Fred Smith’ seems to have just said something useful, if true. Maybe ‘unemployed bin man, Longhope’ is the only troll.

On our street the Council’s Envirocrime Officer would be checking for evidence as there are big fines under Environmental Regulations for fly-tipping as well as it being totally anti-social. There is also the question of waste carrier licences… the vehicle can be squashed as well. Your success must have piqued some unenlightened person/s. Hang on in there! It isn’t your waste.

I agree with Little Miss Green. I can some what feel your pain as we are always ending up with litter from our neighbors and people who drive by. It makes me sad but at the same time I’m glad when it is in my yard because I know I will recycle what can be while others would leave it or trash it.

However if this happens again I would contact the police or something. Do you have to pay per bag? Here we can have as much trash as we want (which I HATE!!!) so no one would have a reason to do that.

This reminds me that people used to leave kittens and puppies on my parents front yard, repeatedly… That was tolerable since we guessed that they see us as good people who would take care of the poor animals, but garbage??? I would dig very deep into it and find clues and links to whom it may be. Unbelievable~!
Also, I have a weird feeling that whom ever did it needs some attention and is shouting at loud for help. Even if he or she is not aware of it. I do not know your family, but it doesn’t seem like you will have any haters that would want to harm you. Weird…

Mrs Green,
Someone is obviously jealous of you and the good work you are doing. Unable to accept that we are all different they judge you and act like a spoilt, spiteful child.
I have been really inspired by your web-site (took the link from the Daily Mail I read in Costa) and we have already in that short time made so many changes in our habits. I was looking for the next step in my ‘green’ journey and you have helped so much in that. Every great idea has its detractors. We don’t lose hope, we just soldier on.
All the very best (council was my practical solution too!)
Jane